D.C. Council Opening Statements: Wizards vs Clippers, Game 22

When last we left our heroes … last night … oh man … OK. We last left our heroes after another excruciating late-game loss, this time at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks on an Al Horford buzzer-beater as Trevor Booker looked on with a pained yet knowing expression on his face. Booker had done everything he could to keep the Wizards up until that point but sometimes talent trumps effort. Or something like that.

More worrying were the quotes from Randy Wittman post game in which he called out the Wizards effort. Stated young Randy:

“I’ll give them credit for staying in the fight and having an opportunity to win the game, but when you don’t play for 42 minutes, you’ve got to play perfect basketball. … I just don’t think we were ready to play.”

It is the time of year where the Wizards hopes start fading and Coach Wittman looks like another famous Randy that is popular this time of year…

So, yeah. Good times.

Joining me today is Fred Katz (@FredKatz) from ClippersBlog, who has much more to be cheery about this holiday season. I have posed some questions to him, some important, some ridiculous in the hope that maybe some #SoWizards will rub off on him this evening.

Wizards tickets … anyone?

Q #1: Blake Griffin recently went down with an ouchie. Does this make Chris Paul happy or sad? Does this help the Clippers late game offense or hinder it?

@FredKatz: It’s probably safe to say Chris Paul is sad whenever he sees ouchies anywhere. What kind of animal would go around trying to find and inflict the biggest ouchies in existence? Who would do such a thing?

And as for the Clippers’ late-game offense, crunch-time offense is always fine when you have Chris Paul on your side. Whether Griffin is hobbled or not, Paul can always lead a team for short stretches.

Q #2: There have been several pieces lately about how Doc Rivers leaving Boston is the best thing that could have ever happened to the Celtics. What is the general sentiment about Doc in L.A.? Or would a warm body be an upgrade over Vinny Del Negro?

@FredKatz: What’s funny about Doc’s job in L.A. is that people expect immediate results, as if a coach can come in an instantly change something about a team. The only part of an organization that a coach can affect is the process. The results, those are up to the players. Right now, the Clippers are missing open shots left, right, and center. But those shots are open. Unfortunately, Doc can’t make those jumpers from the bench.

So far, it’s hard to say Doc has done anything other than a good job (which is an immeasurable coaching upgrade from what we saw with the Clippers last season). DeAndre Jordan continues to develop at an unexpectedly rapid rate, Blake Griffin’s game keeps progressing, and the defense is starting to come together. Doc is doing all he can. Now, the guys who are healthy need to produce.

Q #3: On a scale of 1-10 how delighted are you that you dodged the Kevin Garnett bullet?

@FredKatz: Fourteen. Thank the basketball gods that trade never happened. And it’s not just because Garnett has been as subpar as he has in Brooklyn. DeAndre Jordan has turned into a force down low and a consistently dominant rebounder. He might not ever have much of an offensive game, but that mindset worked out pretty well for Tyson Chandler. Maybe Jordan can develop into a player like him down the road.

Q #4: You will be seeing to very different point guards tonight. Both who claim to be the “best in the league.” What do you expect to happen?

@FredKatz: John Wall is getting better and better, but let’s not be blasphemous enough to put him in the same sentence or even paragraph as Chris Paul. What hurts the Clippers tonight is the schedule. Sure, the Wizards are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Clips are on game seven of a seven-game road trip. They’re tired, and you could see that in their nine-point loss in Brooklyn Thursday night. Maybe Paul doesn’t have his legs and if he doesn’t, Wall has a shot to look even better than he usually does. But maybe Paul realizes his team is 3-3 on its current road trip and comes out and plays a Chris Paul-like game in a contest that he called a must-win after Thursday’s loss.

Q #5: Philosophical question: If DeAndre Jordan continues to wear capri pants like he did at Summer League, what happens to the overall state of menswear?

@McCarrick: Can we all agree that DeAndre Jordan can’t do anything worse to southern California menswear than David Silver did in the ’90s?

So will the Wizards pull a David Silverman and take Donna to the prom? Will Randy Wittman wear a full body grinch jumpsuit? What about Nene? Is this not the time of year where the spirit should be healing him on the double? I dunno. I just know that we are due for a lot more #MaynorTime.

Based in Brooklyn, NY, Sean has contributed to TAI since the the dawn of Jan Vesely and has been on the Wizards beat since 2008. His work has been featured on ESPN, Yahoo and SI.com. He still believes that Mike Miller never got a fair shot.

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